The Internet is a large collection of computers operated using a client-server computer network model. In a client-server computer network, a client computer requests information from a server computer. In response, the server computer provides the requested information to the client computer. In some instances, the server computer can be operated as a web site, and can provide the requested information in the form of web pages. Server computers are often operated by large organizations, such as commercial organizations, governmental units, and educational organizations, while client computers are often operated by individuals.
With the increasing popularity of the Internet, merchants have set up web sites for selling products, which can include tangible products in the form of goods as well as intangible products in the form of services. By accessing these web sites, consumers can view information regarding various products, and can place purchase orders for particular products of interest. In an effort to enhance sales and promote customer satisfaction and loyalty, merchants operating web sites have implemented marketing campaigns to reach out to existing or potential customers. Unfortunately, the design and execution of traditional marketing campaigns can be time-consuming, and can divert limited resources of the merchants from other productive tasks. Moreover, traditional marketing campaigns can be unsuccessful in achieving their goals particularly when measured relative to the amount of time and other resources devoted to these marketing campaigns. While this lack of success results from a number of factors, the lack of personalization or tailoring of advertising material is sometimes a key factor. In particular, traditional marketing campaigns often involve sending standardized advertising material to a group of consumers, such as via mass Electronic-Mail (“E-Mail”). Unfortunately, different consumers can have widely varying preferences in terms of topics of interest, and, thus, many consumers receiving this standardized advertising material may not be interested in its contents.
It is against this background that a need arose to develop the apparatus and method described herein.